By Shirley Thomas
SACRED Heart Roman Catholic Church, destroyed by fire on Christmas morning of 2004, has been rebuilt, and will be opened today with a special Eucharistic Mass beginning at 08:00hrs.The mass will be celebrated by Monsignor Terrence Montrose, Vicar General of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Guyana, and priests and other members of the clergy from other parishes within the diocese will be in attendance. His Lordship, Bishop Francis Alleyne, is out of the country on other business.
The signature occasion will see Sacred Heart parishioners returning to have fellowship on their home ground after more than a decade of absence. Embraced by other Roman Catholics and supporters of the rebuilding initiative, the occasion is expected to bring together hundreds.
Following the 2004 devastation of the church by fire, Sacred Heart parishioners used to meet at the Ursuline Convent on Camp Street, where masses were held.
The opening of the Sacred Heart Church coincides with the imminent closure of centenary activities in honour of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Brickdam. The cornerstone for the Cathedral was laid in August 1915.